U-we-tsi-a-ge-a

Authors Note- This is the first fiction piece that I have tried to write.  Usually when I write fiction pieces they end up being REALLY long, and not to my surprise that happened while I was writing this one.  Sorry that it's so long but without all the details no one would understand what the piece is about.  I decided to write the piece to a different ending of a book that I recently finished reading called Untamed by P.C. and Kristin Cast.  I recreated some parts of it just so it would make sense and put my own twists on it.  Hope you enjoy it!!!  ...And sorry for the length again! 


I’d never imagined that death could happen so fast- though I’d had reason enough to think it could with the way my life has been going for the past two years- but if I ever would’ve, I never would have thought it would happen quite like this.

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My name- Zoey Redbird- but you can just call me Zoey. Ever since that surprising day on which I was marked a fledgling I knew there was something different about me. But that’s not out of the ordinary since the life that I was supposed to live as an average teenager was far-fetched and anything but normal.

And that’s pretty much how my life is here at the House of Night. Besides having boyfriend troubles, and family issues, I am the high priestess in training for the next generation, have a mentor named Neferet that has recently acquainted herself with dark evils, and to top that all off, I am the only fledgling in vampyre history that has EVER had an affinity for all five elements of wind, water, fire, earth, and spirit. Talk about a busy schedule!

Being a dysfunctional disorderly vampyre freak and all, Linda and John Heffer, my mom and step-dad, (or as I like to call him step-loser) have completely disenfranchised me from their lives. I’d like to blame it on my totally dorky step-loser who’s an elder of the People of Faith for pulling my mom away from me but she had to make some of the decisions on her own.
And thus starts the story of my life without my annoying highly religious parents. But it’s really not that bad as long as Grandma Redbird is around to keep me company.

Grandma is a spunky Cherokee woman that enjoys basking in the sun, cooking up some crazy good food, and spending long hours tending to her lavender fields. And she does all that without looking a smidgen over the age of fifty-two! No matter what happens you can always count on grandma to give you her warmth and purify you with her loving Cherokee touch always smelling slightly of lavender. "U-we-tsi-a-ge-ya," as Grandma always says, "let the strength and the power of the Cherokee be with you in times when you need it most."

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As it turns out, grandma was right about needing the strength and power of the Cherokee people with me especially since arriving at the House of Night. There has been encounters with bad spirits trying to kill me and my friends which I had to stop from happening, boyfriends slipping away which I had to stop from happening, bloodlust that I just couldn't seem to control, oh and most recently my mentor and the House of Night's high priestess has stopped worshiping under the name of Nyx, the vampyre goddess and is trying to kill me because my power is too great or something like that and lucky me is supposed to stop all of that from happening.

Oh and did I mention that Neferet is highly talented and has a gift of taping into others thoughts to see what they're thinking which makes my job even more difficult because my friends can't know the things that I know about her in case she's listening in on their thoughts. At least not all of them.
Neferet is very powerful but pretty much the only thing she can't do is hear the thoughts of others of power. So that means she can't listen to what I'm thinking, thank Nyx, or what I'm doing as well as one other fledgling in our school, Aphrodite.

Aphrodite is what everyone would call prissy, stuck-up, and perfect but really once you get to know her she has a lot to offer. For years, Aphrodite had to put up with her parents constantly telling her that she had to be perfect, that she had to follow in their successful footsteps and become a lawyer. She practically drove herself crazy getting in trouble for "not doing what her parents asked", and "being a disgrace to their family name". That's when Aphrodite became marked and her parents realized that being a lawyer is never what their daughter was going to become.

Having the goddess given gift of seeing visions of death and destruction, Aphrodite became the Dark Daughters leader, or as I am now, High Priestess in training. Her powerful gift and past leadership experiences explain why Neferet can't hear her thoughts either which is also why her and I are friends. Together with the help of Nyx and her powers, Aphrodite and I can fight Neferet and her evil plots, I hope.

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"Hi grandma," I said into the receiver of my pink cell phone as I was walking past the east wall of the school. "It's great to finally hear your voice."

"As it is to hear yours u-we-tsi-a-ge-ya." She answered lovingly back.

"Grandma there's something I need to have your opin..." I stopped talking as I was interrupted by the eerie feeling of eyes watching me and then the unattractive croaking of a bird. The bird was a raven, but this one was different for some odd reason. It looked directly at me with the yellowing eyes of a man and the black body of a bird. Something told me that I should not be caught alone with the thing but I couldn't help myself from being curious at what the creature was.

"Grandma I have to go, there's something important that I have to check up on. I'll call you back later." And without giving her a chance to say anymore, I snapped the phone shut and shoved it into the back pocket of my jeans.

I approached the creature cautiously but with great confidence. And summoning wind to me, I suddenly felt a jolt of adrenaline to take on whatever danger the creature brought that lurked just feet away from me in the big oak tree of the east wall. Closing in on it I could hear its low croaking and feel the hesitation of my body as I moved closer. I was careful not to look into the Ravens odd yellow eyes too fast so I gradually raised my head to meet its gaze. As soon as our eyes met I knew that I should definitely have run when my legs had enough strength to carry me far away from the east wall and its scary friend. But it was too late now; the bird stirred and brought its body out from within the folds of the tree, and flapped its wings to fly right in front of me hovering in the air for a split second before it launched itself straight for the middle of my forehead.

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"Thank you wind, you have offered me much help in this time. You may depart now."

As I asked wind to depart there was a moment when I realized while I plopped down under the big oak tree that the second in which I hesitated in fear to blow the bird away could have been one of the last seconds in which I lived. Of course my death couldn't come from a bird hitting me in the face, but it could come from something much larger like a powerful vampyre such as Neferet. I sat under the tree pondering my thoughts and wondering what the thing had been that attacked me. It was definitely a bird with a big black body, but was it really a raven?

With those yellowing large eyes it was kind of hard to believe that it wasn't either a mythical creature from our world or a spirit creature from the human world. And as I thought hard of these things I realized that I could not be caught alone anywhere on or off the school campus. I needed to tell my friends all of what has and is still happening between me and Neferet but I was scared that they wouldn't trust me or believe me.

My decision had to be made, and it had to be made fast. And with the confusing thoughts running through my head I made myself get up from under the big oak and jog to the lounge room near the dorms where I was sure I would find my friends.

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I was surprised that when I finished telling my six good friends (Aphrodite, Stevie Rae, Shaunee, Erin, Daimen, and Jack) all I knew of the relationship between Neferet and I, as well as the most recent encounter with the strange ravens they circled up and preformed a big group hug around me. Stevie Rae started crying and kept saying that when a good person turns bad and acts as the good person, the whole world feels the pain.

"I just thought she was always so nice," Stevie Rae cried.

"But I guess I was wrong. I should have known better."

"Oh please honey this is not your fault," Aphrodite said who is not too often sentimental.

"I hate to admit it but the hag is right," Admitted Erin who doesn't get along with Aphrodite. "The only person who is to blame for this mess is Neferet herself. She is the one who is putting Zoey and the rest of us at the House of Night in danger of whatever evil she is plotting."

In hearing this outburst I told them that they couldn't trust anyone anymore, that they couldn't even think or talk about what is happening around anyone other than who was there at that moment. But for some reason, I felt like I had spoken too soon, that there were other creatures lurking around or within us, watching our every move, listening in on the words that I spoke, hearing, seeing, and telling the story of our groups plan to take down Neferet.

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"Hi grandma it's Zoey again."

"Hi sweetie! How are you?"

"Oh just terrible grandma," and I launched into my long story of Neferet and the dangers she posed to the school and the fledglings in it.

There was a moment of silence until grandma answered again.

"And you said the bird that tried to attack you had the body of a bird and the eyes of a man?"

"Yes it was really scary grandma. I almost wasn't able to center myself to use my powers to get it away from me. I think Neferet sent it to attack me."

“Zoey I need to tell you a story but I think it would be easier if we met in person. Can I come right now to your school?"

"Yea no problem. I'll meet you in front of the school I'll be there with Aphrodite. I think she can offer us some help."

"Oh and grandma, can you bring some Cherokee purifying ingredients? I can hear these ravens everywhere I go."

"Of course Zoey, I will bring enough for you to use when I leave too."

And with our goodbyes finished and grandma getting ready to come to the school, I went up to my dorm to clean up a little for when grandma arrived. And then I heard the heavy knock on my door that made me jump and squirm in my socks.

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I opened the door to stare into yet the same raven that attacked me earlier. But this time the creature was on the shoulder of Neferet. There was no doubt in my mind now that she was the cause of all this mischief. Seeing the look on my face as I looked at the bird Neferet curled up her lips into a beautiful smile that I knew was all too fake.

"Can I come in?" she asked.

What was I supposed to say? That she couldn't. I don't think that would go down too well with a high priestess who has enough brains to outsmart Albert Einstein.

"Of course," I forced myself to say with a smile back.
"I wanted to talk to you about some plans I had to cleanse the school grounds because of the negative energy that has been going around." She said with a mean glint in her eyes. "For tonight I have set up a school ritual that I would like you to perform bringing all of the elements together within you and your powerful group of friends and use them to your best ability to wash the school of all evils."

I studied the bird carefully as it shifted on Neferet's shoulder and made a little hacking noise in its throat.
"I would be pleased to do so," I said. It's not really what I had planned to do on that night, but it would be a great chance to prove to the whole school that Neferet is involved in the evils that my friends and I know she is. I knew what I had to do. It was just getting what might happen through to the rest of them that was going to be the hard part.

“Well Neferet, I thank you for letting me know of this ritual tonight and I thank you for your gratitude towards me."

"You are welcome Zoey Redbird and I give you my wishes that you do well in the ritual tonight."

That is such a lie! She wants me to do really bad, she really doesn't care how I do. I definitely couldn't tell her that though so I just gave her the vampyre symbol of respect, fitting my hand over my heart and bowing my head.

"Well Zoey," Neferet said after a few seconds, patting her bird on the head. "It has been a pleasure talking with you and I will see you tonight at the cleansing ritual."

"Very well Neferet, I will be ready to preform as soon as the moon comes up and the sun goes down."

And with that, Neferet stood up from the puffy pink chair she had sat in and walked to the door with the raven sitting on her shoulder craning its neck to stare at me.

Just before Neferet closed the door behind herself she turned back and said- "Oh and Zoey, there might be some special guests at the ritual tonight."

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"Special guests! Is that woman cuckoo for cocoa puffs? Does she really think your that stupid that you wont realize what she's talking about? Zoey we have to reveal her secrets tonight at the ritual before she does it herself. We have to do it to protect the rest of the fledglings at the school."

Aphrodite paced up and down the length of my room in a rage of fury.

"Hmmmm," said grandma as she sat on the edge of my too soft bed with a blank look on her face and pale cheeks."

"Grandma what's wrong?" I said in a soft voice.

"Zoey," grandma whispered. "I know what Neferet is trying to do."

"Tell us everything grandma."

"Your high priestess Neferet is no longer worshiping Nyx anymore because she has turned to Kalona."

"What's Kalona?" asked Aphrodite.

"He looks like a guardian angel but is one of the most evil creatures of this world. Without the power of another creature, Kalona cannot rise from his depths beneath the earth. And the raven mockers, the things you have been encountering swarm when one's death is near and they have been here because Kalona's death is very close indeed and he is in hiding here. I suspect that Neferet has brought him here in order to help him because it is a place of power and magic, a place where he will be safe from harm."

"But how can Neferet be the one to bring Kalona back if she's just Neferet?" Aphrodite asked grandma.

“Neferet isn't just Neferet. At least I don't believe so. She is a queen called Tsi Sigili." Grandma paused as Aphrodite and I soaked up this bit of hard information.

"That's her plan," I said finally breaking my long silence. "Neferet plans to use the power of my circle of elements tonight during the cleansing ritual to help Kalona rise. If I let her, Kalona will rule us all and humans will gradually become extinct." I shivered at the thought of my grandma dieing from being killed by a vampyre. "We have to work together and rule out Kalona and Neferet and the creepy raven mockers. There is no other choice but to risk our lives to save the world from being overthrown by Kalona for at least another two-hundred years."
Grandma, Aphrodite and I put our hands together and held them there for a few seconds.

"Under the name of the Cherokee people," grandma began "I ask that you give my u-we-tsi-a-ge-ya and her friends the strength to fight the power of Kalona and queen Tsi Sigili."

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Going to the ritual dressed in my nice black dress with my friends around I could feel the tension of the plan that we had established. There was an eerie feeling in the air as I could hear the croaking of the raven mockers not too far away from where we would cast the circle. The candle sticks that we would use to represent each element were laid out in the correct positions and we each went to our spot to pick up our candle. As soon as everyone was positioned in their spot, and the fledglings had finished coming in I began my dance around the outside of the circle. Being the Dark Daughters leader, and high priestess in training I got to cast circles for our meetings and rituals. Starting with Damien at wind I went around the circle clockwise as I summoned each element to us. Finishing in the center with spirit I said thanks to all the elements as a whole. It was then that I had to start explaining Neferet and what she was going to do.

"I know that we were all called here today to cleanse and purify the grounds of this school but I find it necessary to tell you why we need to do this." I searched the crowd for Neferet but she was no where to be found. "Our high priestess at this House of Night is no longer a follower of Nyx. She has chosen the path of following Kalona."

I was going to say more but was interrupted by the loud cracking of the earth just feet away under the big oak tree. There was gasps in the crowd as a figure emerged from the ground. As the figure turned to face the rest of the crowd I was struck by how beautiful Kalona was. His stunning beauty made me want to run to his feet and bow down to him but I knew better, I knew of his evils. Aphrodite was ordering the holders of the circle to keep their shape, to keep the circle in tact. Not to break it. I watched in horror as all of the fledglings except for the ones forming the circle were on their knees worshiping Kalona. And Neferet just stood and smiled at her work well done. She had succeeded in bringing Kalona back to power.

I was not going to let my friends die, not like this. Just as we were going to begin moving the circle towards the hidden doors to tunnels under the school where Kalona, Neferet, and the raven mockers couldn't reach us I saw out of the corner of my eye Stevie Rae reach her hand up to the intricate fledgling mark on her forehead and wipe across it revealing a dark red mark. The unthinkable had happened. Stevie Rae had betrayed us, she had devoted her life to Kalona and Neferet. With a laugh, Stevie Rae dropped her candle and let it fall to the ground where it went out breaking a part of the circle. And as she waltzed over to Kalona, I watched her go in disbelief.

Aphrodite scuffled quickly over to the spot where Stevie Rae had dropped the earth candle and picked it up clumsily clearly as perplexed as I was by what had just happened. Sprinting over to her I quickly summoned earth back to the circle making it completely powerful once again. Forgetting about everyone else around us and just focusing on getting ourselves into the tunnels without breaking the protection of the circle we inched to the east wall door that was the tunnel entrance.

Just as we reached the door and it opened with a loud squeak, Neferet drew the raven mockers attention to us. We continued backing into the door as fast as we could without breaking the circle, and centering myself I held up the power of all the elements. But it wasn't working, the raven mockers were getting past the elements. The door was closing on us so I yelled "Run into the tunnels while I use the elements to try and hold these things off!" They did as they were told and ran, the door still closing faster yet. It was just after Aphrodite got in that the door closed with a heavy "thud!" leaving me pressed up against it helplessly trying to keep the raven mockers away from me. But it was no use. I had no energy left to burst the power of the elements at them and with one last grunt I let go of my grasp on the elements and closed my eyes as the raven mockers hurled themselves at me, stabbing me with their strong sharp beaks in a million places.

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It was moments after the ravens had attacked me, nothing could be heard, everything was black. The only thing that happened was that I saw my grandmas sweet, smiling face while she said,

"You were strong for everyone. You have made me and my people very proud my dear u-we-tsi-a-ge-ya." And with those final words from Grandma Redbird I whisked off into my deaths as the Cherokee word for daughter echoed through my head one last time.